


Neighbors

by shirbert1989



Category: Anne with an E (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Cheeky Gilbert, Cute, F/M, Fluff, Mutual Pining, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Sexual Content, Shirbert, Slow Burn, cat and dog relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-25
Updated: 2020-08-08
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:55:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 42
Words: 16,329
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23317249
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shirbert1989/pseuds/shirbert1989
Summary: Gilbert meets a fiery redhead who had just moved in next door after blasting his music too loudly. After accidentally offending her, he makes a plan to get her to talk to him.
Relationships: Gilbert Blythe & Anne Shirley, Gilbert Blythe/Anne Shirley
Comments: 45
Kudos: 224





	1. Chapter 1

Gilbert couldn’t focus. He had his notes laid out in front of him and multiple rented textbooks scattered around him. Yet, he still couldn’t bring himself to pay attention.

“Fuck,” he grumbled to himself. 

He usually studied with a background noise, but didn’t feel like turning on the TV. So, he ultimately decided to blast some music with whatever CD was left in the stereo. It was some metal song that Gilbert groaned when hearing, but found that it helped him focus and went along with it.

It wasn’t until a couple minutes later he heard the faint sound of the doorbell ringing. He decided to ignore it, thinking the test tomorrow was too important to take a break. However, he heard the doorbell ring again followed by a couple knocks. Grumbling and muttering curses to himself, he begrudgingly got up from the pile of notes to go to the door. 

Gilbert answered the door and yelped at the impact of a fist hitting his head. “Ow! What the fuck!”

“I’m so sorry! I was just trying to knock and then you answered the door and I’m so, so sorry. Are you okay?” A small, frantic, and girly voice sounded out.

Gilbert grasped the side of his head that suffered the impact as he turned back to the door, his face falling at the sight of a beautiful girl matching the girly voice. Her eyes were wide and concerned as she couldn’t believe what she had just done. Her wavy hair was as red as blood but fit her pale, freckled skin like a glass slipper. 

Gilbert shook his head and dropped his hand from his head to his jean pocket, trying to brush off the interaction. 

“Um, it’s okay,” he said. Her eyes were still wide and he cleared his throat, “I mean unless you purposely hit people at their door,” he teased cheekily.

A faint smile appeared on her face as the man in front of her didn’t seem angry at her like she had expected.

“So, why are you here?” He asked.

“Oh um, I just moved in next door yesterday, and I was wondering if you could turn down your music?” She asked. “It’s just so very loud.”

Gilbert looked back to his apartment and clenched his jaw as he turned back to the girl in front of him. She was a good head shorter than him and was wearing a plaid skirt with a sweater tucked in, along with white boots. To say the girl was simply just pretty would be a lie, as he couldn’t help but think she was the most beautiful girl he’d ever graced.

“Um,” he started, “sure.”

She smiled at him, “Okay, thank you.” She was about to walk away before she turned back to him. “Sorry, I’m Anne by the way. Anne with an ‘e’ to be more specific,” she stuck a hand out.

He eyed her in amusement and shook her hand. “I’m Gilbert. Nice meeting you, Carrots,” he smiled as he gestured to her hair.

At that nickname, her face and hand fell. Gilbert was confused at the sudden change in expression and more so as she straightened up and glared at him. She was trying to look intimidating, but he just thought she looked adorable.

“How dare you?” She asked, her voice filled with anger.

Gilbert’s eyes shot up at the question. “I’m-i’m sorry?”

“How dare you call me that?” She exclaimed. “You’re very neighborly, aren’t you? Teasing the new neighbor because of her ugly hair? Just so you know, Carrots aren’t even red, idiot.”

With that, she huffed and walked away to her apartment next door before Gilbert could even blink, slamming her door with a loud thud.

Gilbert was left at his doorway with a confused expression. 

“What the fuck just happened?” He mumbled to himself, his eyes wide. He thought he was simply giving her some cute nickname, he didn’t mean to offend her so much. 

When he walked back in his apartment, still in slight shock at what just happened, he didn’t forget to lower down his stereo. He surely didn’t want to make that cute redhead angry twice after two seconds of even knowing her.


	2. Chapter 2

It had been a day since his new neighbor had yelled at him for accidentally offending her. He didn’t know if he should apologize, or mostly how he should. Gilbert thought it would be weird if he knocked on her door and simply apologized. What would happen if she didn’t forgive him? He’d just be embarrassed further.

It took him five minutes to devise a plan to meet her, and only took a few seconds to perform it. 

Gilbert simply turned his stereo up to play the god awful music loud enough that she would surely come by and ask for him to turn it off. He laid back on the couch as he turned on Netflix, waiting for her to come by.

An exact two minutes later, he heard the doorbell ringing. Smiling smugly to himself, he shot up and walked to the door. When he opened, he leaned against the door as Anne’s angry frown matched her angry posture with her hands crossed over her chest. 

He had to stifle a smile at the sight of her outfit today. She was wearing an outfit with mismatched colors that look like she pulled it together at the last minute, but it fit her almost perfectly. 

“Can you please lower it down? It’s 10 p.m. and I’m trying to sleep,” she said grumpily.

He bit the inside of his cheek as her stance didn’t change. She still looked angry.

“I would like to apologize for yesterday,” he started. He saw her frown leave and an unreadable expression take over. “I’m sorry I offended you.”

She visibly relaxed. She held her chin up and cleared her throat. “Okay.”

Gilbert shot an eyebrow up. “That’s it? Uh, are you still mad at me?” He asked warily.

“Please lower down the volume. There are other people besides me who are trying to sleep as well.” Anne didn’t answer his question. With that, she turned on her heel and walked back to her apartment, aware that Gilbert was watching her the entire time.

He smiled smugly as he closed the door behind him. He wanted to save her trouble and turned off his stereo, all the while being unable of wiping the stupid grin off his face.

“She looked adorable,” he muttered to himself with a small smile as he continued watching Netflix.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know these chapters are really short but that’s because this was originally a one shot but it was too cute to me so I just couldn’t abandon it


	3. Chapter 3

Gilbert encountered the redhead in the parking lot. She glanced at him and rolled her eyes immediately, increasing her pace as she felt him walk up behind her.

“Hey,” he said as he met up with her. She huffed and didn’t look at him. He merely nodded. “How are you doing?”

Anne still didn’t answer him. As they entered the floor where both of their apartments were located, Anne got her keys out, opened her door, and shut the door behind her as Gilbert stood in front of it.

He sighed and walked over to his apartment. A smug grin grew on his face as he knew exactly what to do. Gilbert went over to his stereo, turned the volume almost all the way up, and waited against the front door.

A minute later he felt hard knocks on the door, which was different from the past two days. After she finished, he opened the door with a cheeky grin to contrast her angry face.

“Seriously? Now you’re just doing this to annoy me!” She exclaimed.

He shrugged, “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he said innocently. 

She glared at him before sighing. “Can you turn it down?”

“What’s the magic word?” He teased.

She scoffed. “Really?” He nodded and she groaned. “Can you please turn it down?” She muttered.

He nodded with the same cheeky grin. “Okay. Are you still mad at me?” 

Anne rolled her eyes, “I got over it.”

“I truly am sorry.”

“Okay. I forgive you.”

“Wanna go out with me?”

Anne scoffed in disbelief, “Seriously?”

He shrugged as he leaned against the doorway, “It’s worth a try. So...”

“No.”

“I don’t believe you, really?”

“Yes.”

“Come on, I’m hot and you’re hot, you can’t say it wouldn’t be successful,” he noted. He was met with a hard punch to his bicep, causing them both to wince. Anne out of surprise of how strong his arm was, and Gilbert out of surprise over how the small girl could hit that hard.

“You’re disgusting. Please turn off the music,” she huffed, once again walking into her apartment. 

Gilbert walked back into the apartment and once again turned off the music. But another plan entered his brain and he chuckled as he imagined what her fiery expression would do tomorrow.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Honestly idk where I’m going with this lol

Gilbert friend’s- Moody and Charlie- we’re lounging in his apartment as Gilbert turned the stereo all the way up with no warning.

“Hey man what the fuck?” Moody exclaimed but his voice was sounded out by the music.

“Gilbert you piece of shit turn it off!” Charlie yelled out.

Gilbert simply ignored them as he hovered by the entrance. About a beat later he heard hard knocks on his door and grinned cheekily at his friends, who eyed him suspiciously.

“Yes?” Gilbert asked as he opened the door for the redhead. He was left aghast by her apparel today, a slim black cocktail dress complimenting her curly red hair.

“You have got to be kidding me!” Anne exclaimed. 

His eyes snapped back to hers and he was thankful she didn’t see him eye her.

“What’s the problem?” He asked innocently, tilting his head against the door.

She glared at him. He saw she had done her makeup and looked gorgeous.

“Can you turn it off?” She guffawed. “It’s getting really annoying.”

“You look beautiful.”

He noted the slight blush in her cheeks but remained her composure, “Turn the music off.”

“Will you go out with me?”

“No.”

“Come on, one date? Have some wine, talk about our lives and my bad taste in music? It doesn’t sound fun to you?” He teased.

She exhaled and closed her eyes lightly before opening them, trying to keep calm. “I have a boyfriend.”

“Really?” He asked.

“Yes. I’m going on a date with him right now.”

He nodded, unconvinced. “He’s very lucky then.”

“Gilbert.”

“Anne.”

“Please turn the music off. Thank you.”

And she walked down the stairs. He noted that she didn’t seem as angry with him as she was the first few days, the split second shed of personality from when they first met appearing. He grinned widely and walked back to the living room, turned off the stereo, and wiggled his eyebrows at his two friends.

“You’re the worst,” Moody muttered and Gilbert laughed.

Two hours later Moody and Charlie left, and Gilbert suddenly felt the urge to turn the stereo back on as he heard giggles from a boy and a girl outside his apartment and the closing of the next door neighbor’s door. He sighed as he thought about the girl’s boyfriend being able to make her laugh, unlike he did. Gilbert didn’t know why he felt jealous, all he knew was that one day he would have the pleasure of making her smile.


	5. Chapter 5

It’s been a week since he had seen her, and it also happened to be Halloween. His classes were killing him and she just flew over his mind. He continuously reminded himself to turn the stereo on, but would forget as he pulled all-nighters.

But today he was free. Today he was gonna go out to a party with his friends and get drunk as shit. But for now he insisted on getting the cute girl next door to talk to him.

As he got out of the shower, he made sure to put on the grey sweatpants his ex had made very clear he looked very good in before blasting the god forsaken music again.

This time she came a few minutes later then anticipated, but he still didn’t remove the grin from his face as he opened the door. Anne looked ready to yell at him, but her mouth fell slightly as she was face to face with his bare chest. 

Gilbert raised an eyebrow cockily at her and she cleared her throat, drawing her face away from his abs. 

“I know what you’re doing. I’d have to be fucking stupid to not see what you’re doing. But I still have a boyfriend and I can’t go out with you. So please turn the music off,” Anne stated.

Gilbert noticed she struggled to keep her eyes on his face and not on his chest. So to make it harder for her, he stepped out of the doorway and towards her. She stubbornly didn’t move and was now barely an inch away from his skin.

“Dump your boyfriend and go on one date with me,” he suggested.

She slightly gasped in disbelief, “Are you kidding me? Oh my god. You’re terrible.”

He shrugs as he stuffed his hands in the pocket of his sweatpants. “I’ve been called worse.”

“I don’t doubt it.”

“How about you come to a party with me tonight?” He asked. She quirked an eyebrow up at him so he continued. “My friend’s throwing this huge Halloween party and he said to invite anyone we wanted, so...”

“So you’re inviting me?” She asked and he nodded. “We barely know each other.”

“And this will give us an opportunity to discredit that,” he said with a lopsided grin.

Gilbert could tell Anne was considering it and couldn’t help but grin as she slowly nodded.

“Fine. Fine I’ll go or whatever,” she replied. “Can I invite my friends too?”

He nodded, “In fact, invite your boyfriend so I can see my competition.”

She rolled her eyes but bit her bottom lip to keep an amused smile from plastering her face. “He’s out of town visiting his family. What time should I meet here?”

“Nine.”

“Okay,” she nodded. “Turn the music off, Gilbert.”

She glanced once more at his chest, causing him to chuckle in amusement, before she looked back up and glared at him. She then walked back to her apartment and Gilbert did too to turn off the music before he ruined his hearing.

“Fuck yeah,” he pumped his fists in the air, celebrating that he was one step closer to her.


	6. Chapter 6

He heard knocking on his door and high pitched mutters from outside. When he opened the door, his face fell at the group of six girls and two guys talking to each other outside his door. In front of them with a small smile was Anne in a purple seashell bikini top, a flower dark green skirt made to look like a tail, and curls flowing down to her waist, pinned with seashells.

Gilbert nodded, impressed. “Ariel?”

Anne nodded. “And what are you?”

“A med school student scared of his future.”

Anne laughed at that. Her smile fell as sadness flickered in her eyes and she tried to shake it off. Gilbert noticed and his face fell sympathetically.

“What’s wrong?” He asked, concerned.

She shook her head, “It’s dumb. It’s just Roy was supposed to be Prince Eric but then he had to leave so now I’m stuck like this all night,” she shrugged.

Gilbert eyed the group of people who haven’t even noticed him yet and then back to Anne. A mischievous smile played on his lips.

“What? Do I really look that bad?” Anne asked, unconsciously folding her arms across her chest as she tried to make herself smaller.

Gilbert shook his head, “You look beautiful.” He noted the blush creeping on her face and held a finger to her. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

She quirked an eyebrow curiously. “Oh okay.”

He winked at her as he closed the door. He quickly went into his room and pulled out the closest pieces of clothing he could find. He fixed his hair and grinned widely as he thought he looked very handsome. 

A couple minutes later, he opened the door again. This time, Anne’s friends looked at him and their eyes fell between the two of them knowingly.

The corners of Anne’s mouth uplifted into a smile as she saw Gilbert.

“Gilbert-“

“Call me Prince Eric, maam,” he teased and bowed to her. 

Anne giggled, making Gilbert smile as he bent back up and look at her.

“You look way better than Roy did,” a tall, blonde girl dressed as Cher from Clueless said with a smirk.

Anne glared at her but turned back to Gilbert with a grateful smile. “Thank you.”

He simply nodded with a smile, closing the door behind him as he stood in front of everyone. 

“Let’s go get drunk!” He exclaimed, causing the group to erupt in cheers.

“I love him already,” a raven haired girl dressed as the mother from the Addams family whispered to Anne, laughing as the redhead nudged her in the arm.


	7. Chapter 7

Gilbert met everyone as they walked out of his apartment. He learned Jerry and Diana, her best friend, were dating and the other guy with her, Cole was gay and looking for a boyfriend. He also learned Jane Andrews was the younger sister of Prissy Andrew, one of his mutual friends at medical school.  
Anne couldn’t help but smile at the fact that he got along with her friends so easily. She also noticed she couldn’t quit staring at him. In her defense, he looked very handsome in his off white shirt tucked in his blue pants. He looked especially handsome as he ran his hands through his chocolate curls and smirked at Anne as he noticed her staring at him.

“What? You look good,” Anne muttered in defense as she took another sip of her drink. 

They were in the kitchen as the noise in the house increased by the minute. Anne and Gilbert were leaning against the counter away from the rest of her tipsy friends. Gilbert introduced his friends, Moody and Charlie, to the group and noticed how Ruby and Moody’s Princess Peach and Mario costume matched.

They wouldn’t be able to find either of them until two hours later in the bedroom having an aggressive make out session.

Gilbert smiled cheekily, “I know. And you,” he shook his head, “you look absolutely hot.”  
She playfully punched him in the arm, “I don’t know you well enough for you to say that.”

He chuckled. He watched as she tucked a strand of her curls behind her ear to show her face. He then remembered the day they met, how she noted something about her “ugly” hair. Gilbert was about to comment about it, until he felt a pair of hands touch his shoulder and looked down to see a familiar face. 

“Winnie,” Gilbert greeted and gave a small hug.

“So great to see you, Gil!” The blonde girl said in a British accent with a bright smile. She looked at Anne and her smile widened. “Are you guys doing a couple costume?” She asked with a small gasp.

“Oh, we’re not a couple.”

“Not yet.” Anne glared at him and he smirked.

“Well regardless, I absolutely adore your costume. It’s very adorable yet scandalous,” Winnie notes with a drunk giggle.

Anne couldn’t help but smile. “Thank you, I’m Anne.” Winifred was dressed as Tinker Bell, and Anne was almost jealous at how well she pulled it off. “You look amazing. Great, actually.”

Winnie chuckled, “Thank you. Now excuse me, I found this really hot girl in the living room and now I gotta go scout her out. Wish me luck!” And with that she disappeared.

Gilbert eyes Anne as she took another sip of her drink. “You were jealous.”

She gaped at him. “No I wasn’t!”

“Were so.”

“I barely know you, and I have a boyfriend, must I remind you.”

“Not for long if we keep going like this,” Gilbert remarked and Anne gasped. He finished downing his drink and offered a hand to her. “Wanna dance?” He asked.

She glared at him.

“I know you want to.”

She continued glaring.

“What? You scared because you’re a bad dancer?”

Anne gasped at him again. “I am a great dancer, actually.” She tipped the rest of her drink in her mouth, threw it on the counter, and grabbed Gilbert’s hand as she pulled him to the living room, all the while Gilbert was grinning like a madman and was thankful she couldn’t notice his blush as their hands connected.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay honestly this idea just popped in my head and I’m trying to get it all down before it leaves my head and I forget everything

Gilbert wasn’t nearly as drunk as Anne was. He was almost shocked at how small she was yet how much she was able to drink . 

He was helping her up to her apartment as she continued talking about butterflies and nature and whatnot.

“It’s so beautiful when you go to the forest behind the apartment complex during dusk,” Anne was slurring and Gilbert barely understood her. “It’s so, so, so beautiful.” She then looked at Gilbert and smiled. “You’re pretty.”

Gilbert cocked an eyebrow at her and smiled smugly, “Really?”

“You’re so pretty,” she giggled as she poked his cheek with her index finger. 

Her finger then started poking his face, and soon her hand was touching his face and he moved his head to try and get away from her. Her hands then trailed up to his hairline.

“Can I touch it?” She asked. 

His eyes widened as he looked down at her. “Uh, what?” He then saw she was looking at his hair and he sighed in relief. “Oh, sure.” And then she started pulling on his hair, causing a small yelp from him. 

She gasped, “It’s so soft,” she said in astonishment. “It’s so pretty. So much prettier than my ugly red hair,” she sighed dramatically. “My hair is the ultimate bane of my existence. It’s disgusting and ugly and I hate it.” She pouted and Gilbert had to bite his tongue to keep from remarking how adorable she looked.

“I actually love your hair, it’s beautiful,” he said as they reached her apartment. He took her keys and began fiddling with it to open the door as she just stared at him in surprise.

“I like you.” Gilbert was taken aback as he opened her door. 

“Uh, what?” He asked.

“I like you. You’re cute. And sweet. We learned a lot about each other tonight and I would totally date you if it wasn’t for Roy,” she scoffed at the name. “Roy, Roy, Roy, everything’s always about Roy. I don’t even think he likes me. He’s probably just with me to fulfill his white male needs.”

Gilbert was still taken aback by her. However, he didn’t have time to register it as she kissed him on the cheek and walked into her apartment, humming as she closed the door to a still shocked Gilbert.

Gilbert was standing in front of her door, processing what she just said.

“Oh my god,” Gilbert muttered to himself. A smile broke onto his face and he jumped in the air. “Fuck yeah!” He exclaimed before going back into his apartment and smiling to himself the rest of the night.


	9. Chapter 9

Gilbert woke up with a boyish grin on his face. Her words from last night and the faint mark of her lips on his skin had him smiling all morning. He wondered how Anne was doing and how well she was dealing with her probable hangover, but he wondered if it was still weird if he knocked and asked her.

So, he did what he had done the other days: blast his music and wait.

This time, he pitied her and put some classical music that he found in his living room shelf and put it on almost full volume. It was beautiful, he thought, but very annoying, and not ten minutes or so he heard a small knock on his door.

He opened it and he pouted pitifully at the sight of her. She was wearing an oversized hoodie that fell to her mid thigh (probably from that Ray dude, thought Gilbert) and her face showed signs of obvious sickness. She was wearing glasses and was rubbing her temple when she looked up at him and tried to glare.

“How are you doing?” He asked with amusement.

She shook her head. “Not good,” she muttered. “Turn it off.”

“What? Oh come on, I even changed it for you. A bit of classical music never hurt anyone.”

“Please, it’s giving me a headache,” she said softly, not bothering to try to intimidate him.

His face fell sympathetically and he sighed. “Okay, okay. Wait here.” He walked back to his living room and turned his music off before walking back to Anne who looked relieved.

“Thank you, and thank you for the party yesterday. It was fun. Well the parts that weren’t blurry,” she said.

“No problem. Just knock on my door next time and I’ll take you to any party I find,” he chuckled.

Anne smiled before dropping it, awkwardly tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. “Did I say anything last night? Anything worth remembering?” She asked warily.

Gilbert opened his mouth to reply cheekily but noticed that she asked it in a way that she was hoping for a specific answer. So he sighed and shook his head, to which Anne sighed in relief.

She smiled at him. “Thank you. And have a great day.” She glanced at him before sighing. “And thank you for your costume last night. It made me feel better,” Anne added softly before looking down and walking back to her apartment.

This time Gilbert didn’t smile cockily or grin like a man who had just won some trophy, he was smiling for an unknown reason. He realized he never smiled this hard unless he talking with Anne. And God he didn’t know what to do.


	10. Chapter 10

Later that night, Gilbert felt like talking to her again. But he felt too lazy and tired to go over to her apartment and knock and simply leaned over and turned his stereo on, giving it two minutes before she would come.

A few seconds before he finished counting down, he heard a knock followed by a yell from the door and got up to answer it. However, he turned back around and turned off the stereo before answering the door.

“May I help you?” He asked.

Her face fell into one of confusion, “Oh um, I guess not.” She looked up at him and sighed. “Actually, there is something besides my obvious demand for you to shut the music up.”

“Whatever may I assist you with?” He asked in a fake and very bad British accent.

She stifled a laugh as she groaned, “I...kinda but not really remember what I told you last night.” She scratched behind her ear as she looked up at him.

He tilted his head, “Really? Because I don’t.”

She groaned, “Don’t make me repeat it.”

“I’d very much like for you to repeat it.”

Anne glared at him. “You’re gonna force me to arent you?” He nodded with a grin and she groaned. “Fine, fine. I may have mentioned that you were...cute or whatever.”

“And?”

“Okay so you’re implying that you do indeed remember what I said so please save me from the embarrassment of repeating my drunken words again,” Anne sighed out, her eyes filled with embarrassment.

Gilbert chuckled at her. “Don’t worry, I’m not that rude.”

“It’s just, I don’t know. You’re cute and nice and all that stuff and I got carried away. I mean, I barely know you, I wouldn’t go out with you.”

“Not even if I begged you everyday?”

“No.”

“I’ll keep doing it, you’ll break sooner or later.”

He saw the slightest hint of a smile growing on her face as she shook her head in disbelief. “You’re impossible.”

“Go out with me.”

“God,” she tilted her head back as she groaned and began walking to her apartment.

“You still think I’m pretty?” He called out and laughed as he saw her put her face in her hands in embarrassment.


	11. Chapter 11

Two days later and they hadn’t talked yet. He was busy with studying and she was busy with God knows what. He remember her telling him she was a newspaper columnist for their city newspaper which was actually quite impressive given that Toronto was simply not a small city.

He wondered if she just worked late or so until he heard muffled screams from the other wall. He heard two voices-one that was undeniably Anne’s even through the wall and one of a gruff man. Gilbert rolled his eyes at the thought that it was probably Roy. However, he grew increasingly worried as he heard the yells become louder and heard the slamming of her apartment door open.

Gilbert quickly walked over to his door and peeked out. He noticed Anne’s beautiful red hair up in a ponytail as she was following a tall, blonde haired man outside. His face fell as he saw hers was flushed and tears were streaming down her face. He clenched his jaw as he saw Roy snap around and yell in her face, causing her to fall to her knees and cry into her hands. Roy then disappeared down the steps as Anne stayed on the ground.

Gilbert opened the door more and his heart broke at the sight of her sight criss-crossed on the floor as she cried into her hands. 

“I shouldn’t do this,” he muttered to himself. But as he heard another soft sob escape her, he said “fuck it” and walked over, slowly bending down next to her.

“Anne?” He said softly.

He heard her crying slow down and she removed her hands from her face after wiping stray tears. Flushed, she turned to face him and sniffled.

“I’m guessing you saw that?” She asked softly.

He bit his bottom lip and nodded. “Yeah.”

She shook her head as she tried to halt her tears. “I’m just, so confused,” she admitted. “He told me he cheated on me and-and that he was breaking up with me but I just-I just,” she couldn’t think of what to say as the tears came back.

“Hey, hey, hey,” Gilbert said as he rested a hand on Anne’s shoulder and scooter closer to her. 

Before he knew it she was hugging him tightly as she cried into his shirt, grabbing fistfuls of it and soaking his shirt. Gilbert recovered from the shock and gently wrapped her in his arms. His heart broke at how small she felt in his arms. He sat on the ground and positioned them comfortably so her head was laying on his chest and her legs were on his lap.

His hand was caressing her head and his other one was wrapped around her. His chin was atop her head as he closed his eyes and patted her head gently. He didn’t try to shush her or say anything, allowing her to cry as much as she needed. 

Trying to uplift her spirits, he jokingly said, “So would it be a bad time to ask you to go out with me?”

He heard a small laugh from her as she pulled away and met his eyes. This was the first time they truly saw each other’s eyes and his breath hitched at the lightness of her blue ones. His eyes caught hers looking down at his lips and before he knew it, she crashed their lips together.

Gilbert was barely able to register what was happening and react before Anne pulled away. She looked at him with a scared expression, their eyes meeting again.

“I-I,” Gilbert started.

“I’m sorry,” Anne said and quickly got off him and walked into her apartment, closing the door behind her.  
Gilbert was thinking two things: one was how many times is she gonna close the door on his ass in the hallway, and two, did that actually happen?


	12. Chapter 12

It had been three days since Anne had kissed him and Gilbert had certainly not forgotten about it. He would go to sleep and wake up touching his lips, faintly remembering the feel of hers on his.

He was confused why she had done that as he thought she had shown no attraction to him earlier. However, he didn’t complain. But he still felt guilty for enjoying it after it was clear he was simply a rebound.

Tired of torturing himself with questions he couldn’t answer, he decided to get some answers. He turned on the stereo, not too loud but loud enough that Anne would complain.

After a couple minutes, he heard soft knocks on the door. Gilbert sighed as he looked at himself in the hallway mirror, checking to see if he looked nervous. When he decided he didn’t, he went to open the door.

Anne was wearing her usual brightly colored outfits but this time she had her long hair in a braid. Gilbert smiles softly at her and she gave a small smile back.

“You already know what I’m gonna ask,” she said with an awkward chuckle.

Gilbert nodded. “I do. But, I just wanted to ask-“

“Gilbert, please,” she pleaded, her voice barely above a whisper. He could barely hear her over the speakers and quickly excused himself to turn it off, coming back with a nervous look on his face.

Gilbert gulped. “Did you mean to kiss me?”

Anne looked down at the ground, staring intently at her feet as she played with her fingers. After a couple moments she looked back up at him.

“Yes,” she answered simply.

The corners of Gilbert’s mouth lifted and he blushed slightly as he stuck his hands in his pockets.

“But,” she started and his smile fell. “I-I don’t know how to say this.”

“Do you want to come in?” He offered.

Anne shook her head. “No, I need to say this now, before anything happens.” Gilbert simply nodded and motioned for her to continue. Anne took a deep breath as she relaxed and looked up at Gilbert. “I wasn’t crying because Roy was leaving me. In fact, God I was so happy he did. Our relationship has been shit for a while and this just gave both of us an opportunity to stop it.”

Gilbert nodded slowly in understanding. “So, why were you crying.”

Anne gulped, “I was crying because I thought the only guy who would ever care about me was leaving me. I’ve been thinking that for a while and honestly that’s the only reason I’ve still been with him. Because I know deep down he really does care about me and I just...no guy will ever do that again.”

Gilbert’s face fell and he stepped forward to her, gently grabbing her small hand in his as she broke eye contact.

“Anne-“

“Don’t say anything, please,” she said breathlessly. “Don’t say anything about how ‘you care about me’ or whatever because seriously? We’ve known each other for two weeks and I don’t even know your last name-“

“Blythe.” 

Anne sighed pointedly at him and Gilbert closed his mouth.

“I don’t know anything about you! And I don’t know why whenever I see you my heart just...stops. I cant-I can’t get with someone I barely know, that’s just not me. And how do I even know you do care about me? You don’t know me either.”

“I have been bugging you for days just to talk to you, Anne,” he added with a small chuckle to ease the tension.

“That’s not enough. How do I know you actually like me? Maybe you just wanna sleep with me or use me as some friends with benefits type shit but I don’t want that. That’s just not me. I need to know the person, but I don’t know you well enough to know what you like.” Anne was flushed by the time she finished. “God I don’t even remember what my point was here I just started ranting and spilling-“

She was interrupted by Gilbert tilting her chin up so she was looking at him. Her breath hitched as he leaned down and pressed her lips to her. It was soft and delicate, and new to them both. 

Anne didn’t move, she was too caught off guard by what was happening. Gilbert pulled away and looked into her blue eyes, searching for something.

Before he could say anything, Anne pulled away and ran back into her apartment. He swear he caught a glimpse of a tear running down her face as she pulled away from him.

And he, once again, was left in the hallway with nothing but the sound of the music muffled by his swirling thoughts.


	13. Chapter 13

Anne didn’t know why she pulled away. She didn’t want to. She didn’t want to at all. In fact, she wanted to kiss him back and wrap her body around his but something in her conscious told her she couldn’t. It would go against her whole speech. She couldn’t be with someone she just met, especially since she just got out of a long term relationship.

“I’m so stupid,” Anne groaned into her hands as she sprawled herself on the couch. 

It had been two days since he kissed her and she was still beating herself up over it. She felt stupid and desperately needed to clear the air with him.

“Wait, I’m not the stupid one,” she muttered to herself. “I told him I couldn’t be with him, he’s the one who should be beating himself up! I literally told him I wasn’t ready and there he goes and just kisses me! Clearly he was not paying attention to me. God I have to stop talking to myself.”

Anne was riled up and frustrated. She has clearly told him she was not going to date him or be physical with him and here he was trying to trick her. But she was stubborn, and did not want to go over there and talk to him. She didn’t want to give him the satisfaction and instead wanted him to suffer. So instead, she decided to give him a taste of his own medicine.

She went to her laptop and pulled out a random playlist, connecting it to her bluetooth speakers and turning the volume all the way up. She winced at how loud it was but soon got used to it and walked over to her door, ready for him.

Just as the chorus finished, she heard a heavy knock on the door. She breathed in and out to try and calm herself as she went to open the door, trying hard to keep an unreadable expression on her face.

There was Gilbert, with his perfect curls and handsome face and sharp jawline and 6”2 height and strong build. There he was, taunting her.

“Anne,” Gilbert said pointedly as he tilted his head.

“I need to talk to you,” she crossed her arms over her chest. Before he could respond, she held a finger out to silence him. “No, I’m talking. I made it very clear the other day that I was in no way ready for someone new, especially you! And what do you do? You kiss me! You kiss me and mess up my emotions just because I said I like you! How dare you? I am not that girl who will just forget her morals and beliefs just because some cute guy kissed her!” Her voice was practically louder than the music now.

Gilbert simply quirked an eyebrow up as her face turned flushed. He bit his inner cheek and Anne’s mouth dropped at the fact that he was trying not to laugh.

“Oh you think that’s funny?” She asked angrily.

He shook his head, a hint of an amused grin appearing. “No no, not at all,” he lied.

Anne scoffed. “You’re so annoying!”

“But you like me.”

“Yeah but-“

“So i’m annoying and terrible and you like me, but you still won’t go out with me now?” He clarified.

Anne finally sighed. “Yes.”

Gilbert merely nodded. “Well, I’m sorry for making you frustrated. And I do like you, too. So I’m connecting the dots in my head and I’m seeing that....you’re gonna make me suffer until you figure out your feelings, then I can finally take you out on a date?”

Anne gulped and nodded.

Gilbert grinned. “You’re lucky I’m a very patient man.”

“God I’m gonna regret this.”


	14. Chapter 14

Gilbert woke up the next morning with a small redhead tucked underneath his arm. He groaned as he realized how stuck the position was as her head rested under his arms and her arms were wrapped around his chest. But his smile fell as he recalled the events of last night.

They hadn’t done anything too mature, they had simply spent the whole night talking and getting to know each other now that Anne was actually sober. She had insisted that if they were to get together eventually, they would begin as friends, and friends knew everything about each other. He was pleased to find out that she was big on cuddles and almost a little too touchy with her male friends because she claimed:

“What? I’m short and they’re tall and give really good hugs.”

And then he remembered how she moved to lay on his bed as their conversations didn’t seem to die down. In the middle of his explanation of his med school courses, she fell asleep soundly on his bed. He didn’t want to wake her and make her go home- because he had tried multiple times to wake her up and she wouldn’t budge- and his couch was too lumpy, so he decided to just sleep on the other side.

In the middle of the night he would feel her move around and wrap her arms around him, unintentionally spooning him. His eyes grew wide and he looked back to see her eyes still closed. He would be lying if he said he didn’t enjoy this position, but he also felt weird as he couldn’t move comfortably. So, Gilbert gently pulled her back as he laid on his chest with a relieved sigh. He tried to put her back on her side of the bed, but the moment he gently grabbed her arms to move her it fell and wrapped around his chest.

And then her head rested on the side of his chest as she tucked him in closer to her. Gilbert was pleasantly content with their new position, and wrapped an arm around her small body as the other rested under his head and he drifted off to sleep.

In the morning he would proceed to stare lovingly at Anne as she slept. When she woke up, caught him staring at her with a cheeky grin, and realized the intimate position they were in, she would then proceed to subconsciously hit him across the face.


	15. Chapter 15

Anne would embarrassingly leave and retreat into her apartment right after the incident. 

Anne slapped herself in the head as she recalled this mornings events. She found it suspicious that they ended up in that position. Did they do something? Something she doesn’t remember?

“Ugh,” Anne groaned an hour later. She was now laying on her bed, staring at the ceiling. If she could see through the wall, she would see Gilbert paralleling her.

“I need to find out,” Anne muttered to herself with a hesitant nod. “Yeah, yeah i’ll- wait. Wait I cant! I walked out of his apartment I can’t go back.”

She sighed deeply as she realized the only way they would be able to talk was through her bluetooth speaker.

Anne rolled over her bed to her nightstand and grabbed her laptop. She played the first song she could find and turned the volume up loud enough so he could hear it. And then she waited.

A few moments later she heard a knock on the door and went up to answer it. She inhaled and exhaled to ease her nerves before opening the door. Her smile fell at the sight of not Gilbert, but some random lady standing outside with a frown.

“Hi, I’m Kakwet,” she introduced herself. “I live downstairs and I was just wondering if you and your neighbor could stop blasting music all the time? Or if you will can you blast at least...good music?”

Anne seemed offended. “I’m sorry but all Taylor Swift music is good music.”

Kakwet’s eyes widened slightly. “Oh I’m-I’m sure. It’s just, I’m not really a fan of metal.”

“Oh, then that would be Gilbert’s doing.” She motioned to the apartment next to her. “He has terrible taste in music.”

Anne and Kakwet shared a laugh and right on cue, she saw the door of Gilbert’s apartment open up. Her face fell as Gilbert’s eyes met hers and Kakwet eyed them.

“Im gonna go,” she said awkwardly. “If you can, please, turn off the music.” She smiled politely and then descended down the stairs.

Anne and Gilbert met eyes. Anne sighed as Gilbert simply gave a small smile.


	16. Chapter 16

“Are you going to turn off the music?” Gilbert asked as he crossed his arms over his chest.

Anne rolled her eyes before walking into her apartment and quickly stopping the music, walking back out with a small frown.

Gilbert noticed she seemed upset and his face fell in slight worry. “Are you okay?”

Anne sighed. “Yeah it’s just I had to stop right before ‘Style’ was about to play,” she pouted.

Gilbert had to stifle a laugh but grinned at how adorable the girl was.

“Anyways, I’m mad at you.” Anne’s tone changed from pitiful and adorable to angry and pissed in a second and it took a few seconds for Gilbert’s to fall in realization.

“What?” He asked in disbelief. “For what?”

“Did we sleep together?”

Gilbert knew if he was drinking water he would start choking right now. “What?”

“I woke up from a good nights sleep and only to find out I was cuddling you and you were staring at me like...like,” Anne struggled to find the right words, “like something!” She finished, exasperated.

Gilbert’s eyebrows creased in confusion and he dropped his hands. “Anne what the fuck? Is that why you slapped me?

She ignored his question. “Did you take advantage of me and I just don’t remember it?”

“You weren’t drinking.”

“But what if I got Alzheimer’s? Or-or dementia?”

“You’re 24.”

“Early onset.”

Gilbert didn’t say anything, instead taking a hesitant step towards her until he was close enough to slowly raise a hand to cup her face.

“Are you stupid or something?” He asked concernedly.

“Oh for fucks sake,” Anne huffed out and slapped his hand away from her. “Did we sleep together or not? Because there’s no way people just end up in that position without being...intimate of some kind.”

Gilbert realized what she was doing. She was scared they had done something because if they did she would’ve regretted it and not want to be with him anymore.

“No, we didn’t sleep together,” Gilbert said softly. “You just fell asleep and didn’t wake up so I fell asleep too, but then you started cuddling me and that’s how we ended up like that.”

Anne sighed in relief. “Thank you, Gil. And sorry, I was just so tired and-“

“Hey, I didn’t say I was annoyed by that,” he smiled reassuringly and she smiled as well. “And besides, if we had finally slept together, I wouldn’t have let you leave the bed.”

Anne blushed and he chuckled at her change in skin tone. “I hate you.”

“No you don’t. You spooned me.”


	17. Chapter 17

“You almost burned down your apartment!” Anne exclaimed as she ran out of Gilbert’s apartment, soaked from head to toe.

Gilbert followed a moment after, crying from fits of laughter. Anne gasped and slapped him in the arm, only making him laugh even more.

“This isn’t funny! I just bought this outfit and now it’s all wet!” Anne pouted.

Gilbert had attempted to cook the both of them dinner, but forgot he could not cook and burned the food, causing a small fire and for the sprinklers to go off. He found it hilarious, Anne found it horrendous.

Gilbert slowly stopped laughing and looked up to see Anne with a pout on her face and her arms crossed over her chest. And yes, she was soaked from head to toe.

“Come on Anne, it was kinda funny,” he chuckled. He saw a smile creep on her face but she stubbornly forced it away. “I saw that.”

This made her want to smile even more but she stubbornly refused to do so. He smiled at her and nudged towards the apartment.

“We can finally get the rain kiss you want so bad,” he joked and was met with another playful hit to the shoulder.

“Not yet.” Anne bit her bottom lip as she blushed at the implication.

Gilbert arched an eyebrow. “So, I’m almost there?”

Anne shrugged. “I don’t know. That’s up to you.”

“What do you mean?”

“I kissed you first and you already know how I feel. And I don’t want you to kiss me until you’re sure how you feel,” Anne explained.

“But I thought how I felt about you was already very obvious,” Gilbert chuckled sheepishly.

“It is, but is it obvious to you?” Anne asked quietly.

“That’s was some poetic shit,” Gilbert joked and Anne rolled her eyes playfully, walking past him to her apartment to dry herself. “Very Shakespeare like!” 

And with that Anne closed her door but not without shaking her head with a smile at him first.


	18. Chapter 18

Anne has a frustrating day at work. Her boss, Mr. Philips, needed desperately to attend another sexual harassment seminar. But she couldn’t say anything. How could she? If she even voiced a doubt in his taste in coffee she would get fired. And plus, she was on her period and her cramps were killing her.

When she arrived at her apartment, she saw Gilbert waiting there, scrolling on his phone. He looked up when he heard her footsteps and smiled at her. Her steps faltered when she saw he was holding a basket of goodies and a warm smile spread on her face.

“I’m bored and your texts seemed like you were having a shitty day, so,” he shrugged it off like it was nothing.

But it wasn’t nothing. To Anne it was the kindest thing anyone ever did for her. She internally cursed herself as she felt her out of control hormones cause tears to well in her eyes. And without a second thought she walked over and wrapped her arms around him. He hugged her back and soon they went into her apartment.

Anne changed into her pajamas- with Gilbert kicked out of her room much to his chagrin- and they lay on her bed watching any and every romance movie on Netflix while eating the goodies in the basket.

In the middle of 10 Things I Hate About You, Anne scooted closer to Gilbert and wrapped his arm around him, cuddling into his side. He chuckled softly and decided to one up her. With a yelp from Anne, he put his hands on her hips and moved her so her legs were horizontally laying across his lap. His arm snaked around her waist and she leaned against his strong chest as his other hand fell on her exposed leg, drawing circles.

She looked back up at him with a smile as he brought her blanket over them. He smiled warmly back, and was about to lean in until she pulled away and placed a finger on his lips.

“Not yet,” she teased and he groaned, causing her to chuckle as she wrapped her arms around his waist and cuddled closer into him. 

They would wake up in the same position and this time Anne would be the first to wake, smiling before placing a delicate kiss on Gilbert’s cheek thinking he was asleep. As she gently pulled away from him, he smiled to himself, still feeling the tingles of her lips on his skin.


	19. Chapter 19

“Did I mention how hot you look?” Gilbert exclaimed over the loud music as Anne began dancing up on him, his hands over hers on her waist as he leaned his head down into the crux of her neck.

She giggled and pulled away, still keeping their hands together as she danced. Gilbert couldn’t keep his eyes off her even if he wanted to. She was too entrancing. Her red hair and hips swaying to the music, her see through black crop top that exposed way too much chest just to tease him, and her black pants did too much for Gilbert’s imagination.

Meanwhile, their friends have become friends too, and they were all at the booth, staring at the two.

Diana sighed. “We’ve been here for 10 minutes and they’re already all up on each other.”

Moody shook his head as he put an arm over Ruby. “Have they made out yet? Their sexual tension is too much for them to not have made out yet.”

“That’s the thing, they kissed but Anne won’t let him kiss her until it’s the right time. Or something like that,” Jane replied with a shake of her head as the two were now so close to each other they became one figure.  
Charlie groaned as he downed his drink. “I’m so sick of this. Can they just go home together already so I can stop being frustrated?”

“Can any of you guys talk to her?” Winnie peeped up.

Anne’s friends shook their heads.

“Anne’s way too stubborn. Once she sets her mind on something she never backs out,” Cole explained. “All we can do is just wait.”

They continued watching the two flirt shamelessly with their bodies. Anne would tease him and Gilbert would be left flustered, and Gilbert would try to tease her Anne would find a way to punish him. Soon Gilbert knew he would be going home with many more imaginations in his head.


	20. Chapter 20

Anne and Gilbert were sitting against a tree in the forest behind the apartment complex, waiting for the sun to set. Gilbert had insisted Anne sit on his lap but she threatened to slap him across the face for a third time and he zipped his mouth. 

They were laying next to each other as they saw the sun’s rays of dark yellow and orange set on leaves, creating an illuminating picture with the tools of nature. The leaves were glistening and the chirps of forest animals around them made them feel like they were in a snow globe, and they were content with staying there forever.

Gilbert looked to his left and saw the speckles of the sun fall on Anne’s face, illuminating her freckles. She was smiling up at the sky, staring in the open canopy where the sunlight fell like a waterfall. The light shone off her auburn hair. It stayed with her hair like the two were made to be a pair. 

Gilbert was surrounded by indescribable sights yet all he could do was stare at the girl of beauty sitting next to him, like the sun was highlighting her to him for a specific reason.

And God he knew what it was.

She turned to him and smiled brightly before turning back to the forest, admiring the way the dark light bounced off the trees to create a mural.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” She asked breathlessly.

Gilbert clenched his jaw, never leaving his eyes from her. “Yeah,” he breathed out softly. 

When Anne turned to him, he gently put his finger under her chin and brought her closer to place a delicate kiss on her lips. 

Anne pulled away, eyes wide and confused as she looked to him.

“Please don’t friendzone me, I don’t think I could take it,” he breathed out, their noses brushing past each other’s.

Anne smiled softly, closing the space between them and kissing him back. Her kiss was soft and delicate, and Gilbert’s immediate kiss back mirrored those aspects.

After a moment they pulled away, happy grins encompassing their faces.

“I think I’m done with that now,” she breathed out.

“So you’re saying...”

“Yes Gilbert Blythe, I will go out with you.”  
Gilbert didn’t respond, simply cupping her face and kissing her again as he smiled against her lips. Anne squealed at the sheer happiness she felt with this boy kissing her, and how she never wanted to let go


	21. Chapter 21

Anne woke up the next morning on Gilbert’s chest. This wasn’t anything new to either of them. The past few weeks where they’ve grown as friends resulted in more and more sleepovers and cuddles. However, this time was different. Because now neither of them were clothed.

Anne blushed as her eyes fluttered open to see his bare pecs and it grew bigger as she looked up and saw Gilbert looking down at her smugly. 

“Good morning,” he breathed out huskily as the hand wrapped around her waist began drawing circles on her bare back.

She placed her palms on his chest and out her chin on top of her hands. “Hi.”

Gilbert tried to bring her closer so he could kiss her, but she grimaced when he opened his mouth and his mouth dropped. “What?”

“I don’t like morning breath,” Anne admitted as she laid back down on his chest.

Gilbert chuckled. “Do you want me to brush my teeth?”

“Yes sir.”

Gilbert raised an eyebrow in amusement at the nickname and Anne blushed furiously when she noticed. Within a minute he had sat up and grabbed a squealing Anne to sit on his lap, crashing their lips together.

“Mm ew go away,” Anne muttered as she tried to pull away from his grasp but his hands holding her back protectively.

Gilbert didn’t respond as he deepened the kiss and neither of them would leave each other or the bed for the next hour.


	22. Chapter 22

“I can’t believe I had sex with you before we even went on a real date,” Anne joked as she walked hand in hand with Gilbert on the forest trail. She was trying to walk on a log and was using Gilbert’s hand as balance.

“Do you regret it?” He asked as he played with her hands.

She gaped at him. “Of course not!”

“I know,” he winked, “there’s no way you would’ve regretted doing it with me.”

Anne hopped down to hit him in the arm with her free hand. “I will not be responding to that.”

“You just did,” he grinned cheekily and Anne glared.

She rolled her eyes but kept their hands together as she began wandering down the path, kicking the leaves with her feet and staring at the trees while Gilbert stared at her lovingly.

“Has anyone ever told you how adorable you are?” He asked tenderly. Anne looked over to him and blushed furiously.

“Shut up,” she said with a small smile.

“Make me.”

Anne stepped on her toes, laid a hand on Gilbert’s chest and kissed him on the lips. He bent his head down to kiss her back and after a while pulled away, putting an arm on the small of her back.

“You want me to take you out on a date?” Anne nodded. “I’ll take you on a date Anne Shirley-Cuthbert, and I swear it’ll be the bestest date ever.”

He grabbed her hand and twirled her, causing her to giggle again. He then gripped her wrist and put his hand on her back, dipping her back down and blocking her yelp of surprise with his mouth.

Anne moaned in delight. “Okay,” she muttered with a smile against his lips.


	23. Chapter 23

“This is beautiful,” Anne muttered in awe as she laid on Gilbert’s lap, watching the sun set over the ocean horizon. Gilbert placed a kiss on top of her head as she grabbed on of his hands and pulled it to her, intertwining their fingers.

“You’re beautiful,” he muttered against her head.

She slapped his wrist. “Don’t go cheesy on me now.”

Gilbert chuckled until they both fell in a comfortable silence. They were watching the red and orange light illuminate over the blue ocean as they cuddled closer into each other.

“So,” Gilbert broke the silence, “was this the bestest date ever?”

Anne looked up at him with a mischievous smile on her face. “Not yet.”

She leaned in to kiss him deeply, moving to gently push him on his back on the picnic blanket. She hovered over him and put both knees on either side of him, playing with the buttons of his shirt. Gilbert gently pulled away, catching his breath.

“I didn’t bring anything,” he breathed out. “Well I did but it’s all the way in the car and-“

“I’m on the pill,” Anne interrupted as her lips hovered his.

“Oh fuck yeah,” Gilbert replied huskily and pulled her closer by the back of her head.


	24. Chapter 24

“Please?” Anne pouted as she sat in front of Gilbert on his lap, her hands clamped together in a begging hold.

“No,” Gilbert replied without looking up from his phone.

“Pretty please,” Anne trailed the ‘please’ for a good minute before she huffed and ran out of air.

“Anne I said no,” Gilbert said sternly.

He didn’t hear her say anything and glanced up only to see Anne making puppy dog eyes and sticking her bottom lip out.

“Come on,” Gilbert groaned as he threw his phone on the pillow next to him. “Don’t do that or else I’ll gonna cave and I will not cave.”

Anne simply pouted again, sniffing her nose to add a jolt to her cuteness. “Please?” she asked softly.

Gilbert clenched his jaw before sighing with an unreadable expression. “Fine.”

Anne smiled cheerfully. “Yay.” She leaned over to peck his lips before wrapping her arms around his waist and leaning her head on his chest. 

Gilbert ran a hand through her hair as his other hand settled around her waist. “No ugly sweaters. I will seriously dump you if I have to wear ugly sweaters.” Anne looked up at him with the same expression as a couple minutes ago, and Gilbert sighed in defeat. “Fine we can have ugly sweaters.”

Anne smiled again and pecked him on the lips again.


	25. Chapter 25

“So you’re telling me you two finally got together and this is how we found out?” Cole asked as the rest of the group stared at the two in disbelief.

Gilbert rolled his eyes as Anne beamed and nodded, grabbing Gilbert’s hand to her side and intertwining their fingers.

“You got Gilbert to dress up for Halloween and Christmas?” Moody asked as he took a sip of his drink. “Good lord,” he muttered.

Anne and Gilbert were currently dressed as Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus. However, Gilbert insisted if he was going to wear the ugly beard Anne would wear the Mrs. Claus costume he chose. She didn’t mind as he picked out the outfit showing the most skin, claiming she was feeling “quite scandalous” recently anyways, and that she was willing to do whatever just to get Gilbert in costume.

Their friends simply stifled their laughter or didn’t bother to hide it. The party was supposed to be a simple ugly sweater Christmas party and when Gilbert and Anne arrived, Gilbert groaned at the fact they were the only ones in costume.

“Well I think you two look adorable,” Ruby noted.

“Yeah, it’s like a hot college student with sugar daddy,” Josie smirked and was met with a nudge in her ribs from Diana. “What?”

Anne ignored them and turned to Gilbert with a glistening smile. He looked down at her, trying to keep a deadpan expression but finding it difficult with the small, hyper girl grabbing his arm and looking at him like that.

Anne pointed up above them. “Look.” Hanging above them was a mistletoe.

Gilbert looked up and back down to Anne with a mischievous quirk of an eyebrow.

“Now Mrs. Claus, that’s highly inappropriate,” he teased as he snaked his arms around her waist.

She put her arms around his shoulder and ignored him, leaning in to kiss him but making a face of disgust as she couldn’t find his lips due to the fake beard.

“Gross- Hey!” She exclaimed. 

Gilbert bent her down and smothered her lips with his beard, finding the situation hilarious. Anne bemoaned in disgust at the contact of the hair on her and their friends cheered them on, Anne flipping the bird at them as Gilbert continued.


	26. Chapter 26

“You know it’s almost midnight,” Gilbert sang in Anne’s ear as he sneaked up from behind to wrap his arms around her waist, placing a light kiss on the tip of her ear.

“Mm, I know. I saw this guy staring at me earlier and I’m gonna try and be near him when the countdown starts,” Anne joked.

“What’d he look like?” He whispered in her ear, his voice muffled from the music blaring at the party.

“Kinda ugly, if I’m being honest. He also won’t leave me alone and I’m feeling harassed,” Anne turned to kiss him on the lips.

Gilbert made a hum in agreement as he pulled away. “That’s not good. Stay with me and I can keep you safe.”  
Anne chuckled as people around them began moving to the Tv screen, watching as the ball began to drop.

“10!”

The countdown began and Anne squealed as he twisted her body around so he had to face her.

“9!”

Gilbert smiles tenderly at his girlfriend, a hint of nervousness on his face.

“8!”

Anne noticed and her face fell.

“7!”

“What’s wrong?” She asked over the music.

“6!”

Gilbert shook his head, signaling nothing.

“5!”

Anne smacked her lips. “I’m not stupid.”

“4!”

“Are you okay?”

“3!”

“I’m gonna say something,” Gilbert replied.

“2!”

“Okay...”

“1!”

“I love you.”

“Happy New Year!”

And with that Gilbert pulled Anne’s lips to his, hugging her body tightly as if he was scared she would let go. As the cheers exploded around them, neither of them could seem to bring themselves back to reality, back to the fact that they actually weren’t the only two people in the room.

Anne pulled away, staring deep into Gilbert’s eyes. Gilbert held her face with his hands delicately, searching her eyes for an answer.

Anne simply shook her head with an innocent smile. “What did you say? I couldn’t hear you.”

Gilbert felt like dying right then and there.


	27. Chapter 27

“I need to do something out of this world. Something extraterrestrial! Something no one’s ever seen before! Something-“

“Okay we get it,” Cole interrupted.

Gilbert exhaled. “I just, I don’t know what to do.”

“Why don’t you just tell her?” Tillie suggested, clearly annoyed.

Gilbert shook his head and his friends groaned. “I need this to be otherworldly. I tried telling her at New Years and then-“

“We know! She didn’t hear you!” Moody groaned. 

Gilbert knitted his eyebrows together in confusion. “Have I already told you guys this before?”

“Yes.” They all replied in unison.

Gilbert seemed taken aback. “Really? I don’t remember.”

“Because you were drunk as fuck and crying because you claimed you started to hate the existence of music,” Winifred mumbled.

“You were gonna say it right at midnight and then you did but the music was too loud and she asked you what you said and you freaked out and said she smelled like nature,” Jane finished.

Gilbert felt his face slowly light up. The mention of music brought him back to the days of their early relationship and the corners of his lips turned up.

“I got it,” Gilbert said breathlessly as he stared into nothing. “I got it!” And with that he grabbed his coat and quickly headed out of the cafe, leaving his friends in the booth.

They all looked at each other knowingly when he left.

“I love him! I do! But he’s so weird,” Ruby piped up and they all muttered in agreement.


	28. Chapter 28

Gilbert felt his nerves take the better of him as he stood in front of his stereo. He had been staring down at it for the past two hours contemplating if this was the right move. On New Year’s Eve, the words simply popped into his head and he had a good 10 seconds before he could make the announcement perfect. But the screaming, drunk adults around them just had to tune his words out.

Gilbert let out a shaky breath, “I can do this.”

With his hands shaking, he pressed “Play” on the stereo and an immediate wave of relief hit him. He gulped and bit his bottom lip as the first few chords of “You Are In Love” by Anne’s favorite artist, Taylor Swift, belted out at max volume.

Gilbert made sure to wear ear plugs so as to not damage his ears. He barely heard a slow knock on the door until the beginning of the chorus. With an unstable breath, Gilbert walked over to his front door, and slowly opened the door as he fought to keep the anxious yet hopeful expression away.

Staring up at him with big, teary eyes was the girl he loved. She was breathing slowly, almost as if she couldn’t believe anything.

“Okay I’m probably going to sound ridiculous and I don’t know if you have any underlying meaning with that song and if you don’t then you have no right to laugh at me when I ask you this,” Anne ranted. She closed her eyes and steadied her breathing before opening them back up to look up at him. “Are you trying to say what I think you’re saying?”

As the song played in the background of their minds, Gilbert simply nodded with a small smile. Anne chuckled in disbelief before closing the space between them and jumping into his arms, colliding their lips together as he caught her easily.

Gilbert closed the door behind him as he walked backwards into his apartment, careful not to hit her against anything. He sat down on the couch with Anne on his lap, their lips never leaving each other’s. When Anne finally pulled back Gilbert leaned over to turn off the stereo. He saw Anne had tears skimming her eyes and gently brushed her cheek to rid the falling tear.

“I love you,” he finally breathed out.

Anne grinned, but the tears finally fell and her head fell on his shoulder as she began sobbing. Gilbert was caught off guard but quickly recovered as he ran a hand through her hair while the other loosely hugged her waist. Her hands gripped his shirt tightly as she sobbed into it and Gilbert couldn’t help but feel his heart drop.

After a few minutes, Anne pulled off of him, still keeping his shirt in her fists. She leaned in closer to him, rubbing their noses together. “I love you too,” she said softly.

Gilbert grinned as he smoothed the hair over Anne’s head. “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Anne smiled.

“I love you more,” he countered.

Anne pecked him on the lips. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“Show me.”

She squealed as he shot up off the couch with her arms around his neck and legs wrapped around his waist, kissing her deeply as he lead them into his bedroom and slammed the door behind him with his foot.


	29. Chapter 29

“I told you to stop trying to cook you’re only going to kill us!” Anne exclaimed as she took the bowl from his grasp.

“Well I’m sorry! It’s not my fault I didn’t know what an egg white was,” Gilbert groaned as he tried to take the bowl back.

“Everyone knows what an egg white is! And they know it’s definitely not the whole fucking egg!” Anne snatched the bowl back from him.

“The shells broke apart when I was mixing it it’s fine!” Gilbert grabbed the bowl again.

“How are you in freaking medical school but you can’t bake simple banana bread?” Anne was now hugging the bowl like it was a baby.

“Why don’t you just buy it from the store? There problem solved!” Gilbert snatched the bowl from Anne, hanging it over his head so she couldn’t reach it.

She gasped and clenched her teeth as a smug smile broke on Gilbert’s face.

“Giant.”

“Midget.”

“Colossal.”

“Pixie.”

“Sasquatch.”

“Pygmy.”

“Beanstalk.”

“If you want the bowl so badly, climb me,” Gilbert suggested with a smirk.

Anne gaped at the clear sexual innuendo. “You’re disgusting.”

“You love me.”

“No I don’t, I take it back.”

“You can’t take ‘I love you’ back.”

“Sure I can. Watch: I don’t love you.”

“Yeah you do.”

“Just give me the bowl!” Anne whined with a pout.

Gilbert put his lips between his teeth to keep from smiling as he lowered the bowl to Anne. Her expression instantly changed to a happy one as she grabbed the bowl from his grasp. He leaned down to kiss her on the cheek and she chuckled.

“So you still don’t love me?” He teased.

She shook her head. “Not until you can make banana bread properly.”


	30. Chapter 30

“You’re a very intellectual girl. I can see you going places when you grow up,“ Anne encouraged Delphine and the small girl smiled brightly.

“Really?” She asked with wide eyes.

Anne laughed and nodded. “Certainly.”

“I want to be just like Uncle Gil!” Delphine exclaimed enthusiastically as she gripped her uncle’s arm and began tugging it.

“You want to be a broke med school student whose guardians have to pay for his rent?” Bash joked and Mary hit him in the arm. 

Gilbert mocked a laugh at that before turning back to his niece with a small smile, “You want to be a doctor, too?”

“I want to be just like you, except for the ‘moke’ part that daddy calls you.”

Bash choked on that and started coughing furiously. He downed a cup of water and cleared his throat.

“You okay honey?” Mary asked mindlessly as she continued eating her dinner like nothing had happened.

“What’s a moke?” Anne asked.

Gilbert glared at Bash who held his hands up defensively.

“It’s what my dad calls Gilbert everytime he talks about you,” Delphine explained and Mary fought to stifle a chuckle.

“I don’t think we need to explain anymore-“ 

“It’s basically a name I call Gil everytime he talks about you because he is, what’s the word? Whipped for you,” Bash grinned teasingly.

Anne had to keep from aww-ing at Gilbert who was simply shaking his head as he stared down with reddened cheeks.

“I’m gonna go clean up,” he said and grabbed the empty plates to put in the kitchen. He was met with teasing protests that he simply tuned out.


	31. Chapter 31

“Valentine’s Day is in a few days,” Anne muttered as she sat down on Gilbert’s lap, wrapping her legs around his hips and her arms around his neck as she laid her head on his shoulder.

Gilbert repositioned himself so he could wrap his arms around her and still continue playing his game. “And I have the most amazing plan for that day.”

“Yeah?”

“Okay not yet but I will soon,” he sighed. She could hear his thumbs tapping the controller more frantically and giggled as his body moved frantically under her.

“Yes!” Gilbert exclaimed and shot up from his chair, totally forgetting Anne was around him and she almost fell off but his hands quickly kept her to his body. “Shit i’m sorry.” He abandoned his controller and sat back down on the chair, cradling Anne in his arms.

She pulled her head away and jokingly glared at him in disappointment. “You could’ve killed me! And before our first Valentine’s Day.” She shook her head in disappointment as she wrapped her arms tighter around him.

“Damn it, then I wouldn’t have to plan a date for you.”

She nudged him in the arm and he chuckled. “You’re annoying.”

He kissed the top of her head, smoothing her hair down her back. “I know.”

“Good. Also, I have a surprise for you on Valentine’s so you better bring your A-game.”

“When have I ever let you down, Shirley?” He muttered against her hair.

She smiled. “Never.”


	32. Chapter 32

“This is the best Valentine’s Day ever,” Anne smiled as she grabbed Gilbert’s hand to walk hand in hand with him down the street.

He chuckled down at her. “Yeah?”

“Yeah. Oh my god, I had no idea we even had an actual library in Toronto anymore with actual, authentic books! All the libraries near us replaced the bookshelves with computers and there’s like, three copies of the Harry Potter books just to torture us.”

Gilbert had taken Anne to one of the oldest libraries in Toronto. It was basically empty, especially since it was Valentine’s Day, so the librarian had no problem with the two spending the whole day there reading their favorite books to each other. Gilbert thought of this date when he remembered coming to the library to find facts about 19th century medicine and came across old copies of classic novels. One glance at Anne reading Pride & Prejudice for the thousandth time and he just knew she’d love it.

“I wanted to tell you about it sooner, but the truth is I just forgot,” Gilbert chuckled lightly as he twirled Anne in front of him.

Anne gasped. “So you’ve known about this place for so long and kept it a secret?”

He shrugged innocently. “Like I said, I forgot.”

Anne rolled her eyes playfully. She grabbed his hand tightly to stop him from walking, placing her other hand on his chest as she stood on her toes to kiss him passionately. She was about to pull away but his tug on the back of her head to kiss her back halted her. She moaned against his lips as she shivered.

“I’m freezing,” Anne muttered against his lips.

He smirked. “I’m not giving you my jacket.”

“But it looks so comfortable.”

“Then I’ll be freezing and die. Just hug me for warmth,” he said half serious half jokingly.

Anne huffed in defeat, wrapping her arms around his warm body tightly as the wind hit her and she retreated into his body. He laughed and kissed the top of her head as he wrapped an arm around her figure. They walked back to Anne’s apartment for her “surprise” that Anne was very anxious about.

“Can you spoil the surprise for me?” Gilbert asked as they entered her apartment.

Anne simply winked at him, “No. Wait here.”

And with that she left Gilbert in the living room as she closed her bedroom door behind her.


	33. Chapter 33

“Are you ready?” Anne exclaimed through her bedroom door.

Gilbert chuckled as he lied back down against her couch. “I’ve been ready for 15 minutes, sweetie.”

“Well my apologies,” she said as she opened the door and stood at the entrance, one hand leaning against the wall as she stood. “Do you forgive me?” She asked innocently yet seductively.

Gilbert’s eyes immediately shot up as he caught sight of her. His mouth was agape and he was left speechless seeing her at that moment. 

Anne leaned against the wall and sighed. “Are you gonna keep staring at me or are you gonna come over here?”

Gilbert was baffled. “You-you look,” he gulped, “great.”

She quirked an eyebrow in amusement as she twirled a piece of her curly hair. “Just great?”

“Beautiful,” he said breathlessly. 

Anne blushed at that and giggled as he hurriedly walked to her to lift her so she had to wrap her legs around his waist, planting a frantic kiss to her lips.

“Happy Valentine’s Day,” she muttered against his lips as he pushed her up against the wall.

“Happy Valentine’s Day to me,” he said distractedly as his kiss traveled down from her lips to her neck and his hands wandered over her exposed skin. 

Anne gasped as he brought her even closer and walked them over into her bedroom. They giggled as he shut the door behind them, and they never left each other the rest of the night.


	34. Chapter 34

Anne and Gilbert were getting spa treatments at Anne’s favorite beauty parlor for one of their dates. Gilbert initially dreaded the idea but after a back massage that relieved strains he didn’t even know he had, he embraced the place.

“I told you this would be fun,” Anne said to Gilbert as they were getting facials.

They couldn’t see each other but Gilbert just knew she had a smug look on her face. “Yeah, yeah.”

“Do you want to get your body waxed?” Anne’s voice was muffled out by the loud steam on her face.

“No.”

“Come on, I hate how hairy your legs are.”

The estheticians looked at each other awkwardly as the couple began bickering.

“I shave them every week.”

“But they grow back in like three days it’s disgusting.”

“I’ll wax my legs when you wax your mustache hairs.”

Anne gasped and almost jumped off the table until the esthetician gently pushed her back down on the table. Gilbert smirked as he heard her reaction.

“I do not have a mustache,” Anne muttered stubbornly.

“I know, I just wanted to get you mad,” Gilbert laughed.

Anne scoffed in disbelief as the esthetician’s began plastering face masks on them. “I don’t love you anymore.”

“Sure.”

“I mean it.”

“Okay.”

“I mean it, you’re repulsive and I hate you.”

“Mustache.”

“You said I didn’t have one.”

“Now you’ll never know if I’m joking or not.”

“Bigfoot.”


	35. Chapter 35

“What’s the objective of this game?” Anne asked as she kept her eyes on the computer screen. 

“To be the last one standing,” Gilbert replied as he kept his focus on Anne’s actions.

“Have you ever played before?” Moody asked through the headphone.

“Nope.”

She heard Moody, Jerry and Charlie laugh.

“Oh this is going to be fun,” Charlie muttered.

“Oh! I see someone!” Anne exclaimed. “What do I do?”

“Kill them,” Gilbert was frantic and bouncing his knee as he stared intently at the screen.

The boys were speaking to each other and sometimes saying stuff to her but Anne had a hard time keeping up. 

“How?”

“Anne someone’s close to you.”

“Wha-“

“Anne kill them!”

“But-“

“Baby come on let me help you-“

“No! I got it.”

“Anne-“

And before Anne could understand what was happening, she was killed and Gilbert put his head in his hands in disappointment. The other guys were groaning or continuing by themselves. Anne looked over at Gilbert with an apologetic expression and she mouthed ‘sorry’ to him. He shook his head as a smile formed on his face and leaned over to peck her lips.

“You tried, its fine. And you looked absolutely adorable doing so by the way,” he smiled and she giggled.

“Can you guys shut up before I throw up?” Jerry groaned.

“Logging off now,” Gilbert said and logged off the chat, throwing the headphones off Anne and picking her up to bring her close so he could kiss her.

“Mm, I’m sorry I got you killed,” Anne said apologetically as she pulled back.

Gilbert shrugged. “I don’t care.”

Anne smiled. “Okay.”

“Okay.”

And with that she pecked him on the lips again.


	36. Chapter 36

Gilbert’s head was on Anne’s lap, who was sitting against a tree trunk. He was reading a book for his course as she played with his curls and picked flowers from around them to make him a flower crown. When she was done, she smiled cheerfully and put it on top of his head.

“Ta da!” Anne exclaimed and got her phone camera in front of his face to show the crown on his head.

Gilbert’s eyes moved from the book to the screen and he chuckled at how hilarious he looked. He looked up at Anne’s face from above and brought her down with his hand on the back of her head to kiss her adoringly. When she pulled back the crown fell over his eyes and she giggled as she fixed it back.

“Do you like it?” She asked. “I wanted to do a pattern of the blue, the purple, the white, the blue, the purple and whatnot but then I saw a really pretty yellow one and I just had to put it in, you know? It looks kinda like a messed up rainbow but it looks amazing on you, don’t you think?”

Gilbert simply grinned. He brought his hands to touch the flower crown and he grazed it delicately.

“It’s the second most beautiful thing ever,” he said as he looked up at her tenderly. 

Anne blushed at the comment. “After Delphine, right?”

“Yes, after Delphine,” Gilbert laughed. He continued reading his book and Anne continued playing with his curls, humming to herself as she occasionally bent down to peck him on the head.

“I love you,” Anne muttered against his head.

“It’d be kinda awkward if you didn’t, don’t you think?”


	37. Chapter 37

TW: mentions of sexual harassment

Anne just knew to rely on Mr. Phillips to have a bad day. She was going through work fine until he called her into his office. When she exited, she hid in the bathroom, crying, until it was time to leave. 

She was outside her apartment and the minute she opened her door she heard Gilbert open his, grinning at her as he walked over to kiss her.

“How was your day?” He asked. However, his face fell when he saw her flushed face and teary eyes. “What’s wrong?” He asked worriedly.

Anne shook her head and looked down at her feet. “Nothing, it’s stupid.”

“It can’t be stupid if it made you this upset,” he said tenderly. He placed a finger under her chin to make her look up at him. The gentle act almost encouraged her tears to break, but she inhaled sharply to keep them at bay.

“It’s just my boss. He just, he’s a dick,” Anne chuckled humorlessly. “He’s a dick and I hate him.”

Gilbert’s face softened. He didn’t know who her boss was or what he did, but he was sure he was going to pay for making his girl upset.

“What’d he do?” He asked, clenching his jaw.

“Something stupid, it’s not a big deal-“

“Anne.”

Anne gulped. She avoided eye contact as she muttered something softly.

“Can you repeat that?” He asked softly, careful not to sound too demanding.

Anne sighed as she raised her voice. “He, he called me into his office because he said he had a question about my article but he just,” the tears fell and Anne began sobbing into her hands, “he tried to, to.” Anne didn’t finish, and she didn’t have to for Gilbert.

His face fell as he connected the dots. His hands and jaw clenched as anger filled him. He gently caressed Anne’s hair before attempting to move past her and down the stairs. Anne looked up and she quickly shook her head, grabbing his clenched fist and he immediately stopped at her touch.

“Please don’t do anything,” Anne pleaded quietly.

Gilbert clenched his jaw even harder at that. “What?”

“I know that face and I know you’re going to do something stupid and-“

“Anne he tried to hurt you, I’m not letting him get away with that,” he said angrily.

“Please,” Anne pleaded again. She looked at him with big eyes and his expression softened. “Please don’t. I just need you right now, please Gilbert.”

Gilbert unclenched his jaw at the sight of Anne in tears. He quickly walked over to her and wrapped her in his arms, gently so as to not crush her. He heard her silent sobs into his shirt and he closed his eyes in agony at the fact that he couldn’t do anything but comfort the girl. He placed his chin on top of her head and stayed with her in the hallway until her tears dried up.


	38. Chapter 38

TW: mentions of sexual harassment 

“Ms. Shirley,” Anne heard Mr. Phillips call her into his office.

She froze for a moment before collecting herself, slowly getting up and walking into his office. He motioned for her to shut the door behind him and she gulped. She has flashbacks to earlier that week when he had tried to touch her. She avoided his eye as she sat down in front of his desk.

“Do you happen to know a man named Gilbert Blythe?” He asked curtly.

Anne’s head shot up. “Gilbert?”

Mr. Phillips nodded as he leaned forward on the desk. “So you do? Well, that man went to Ms. Stacy and filed a sexual harassment complaint against me. You wouldn’t happen to know why, would you?”

Anne was shocked. She had no idea what to say. “I-I, I don’t-“

“Be very careful how you answer that Ms. Shirley,” Mr. Philip’s voice was low and threatening. “because you say what I think you’re going to say, i’ll have you blacklisted from every newspaper or magazine in this city, and you’ll have nowhere to go but the local fast food restaurant when I throw you out on your ass.”

His voice amplified as his threats increased. Anne dropped her head to the floor and winced.

“Have I made myself clear?” He boomed out.

“Yes, Ill talk to him,” she replied timidly.

“Good, now get out.”

Not a beat later Anne opened the door and walked out of the office back to her desk, silent tears falling on her cheek. She sat down in her desk, fighting to keep the tears at bay until she just couldn’t and hastily went over to the bathroom to lock herself in a stall. In her pocket, her phone buzzed and she groaned as Gilbert’s name popped up. Before even thinking, she pressed decline and angrily stuffed her phone back in.

She was going to need to talk to Gilbert, and she did not want to imagine how it would end 


	39. Chapter 39

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Sexual Assault
> 
> With all these allegations against these powerful, rich male celebrities, I want you all to know that there is no harm in believing women. You are gaining nothing from not believing them and defending the men. Always believe survivors.

Anne knocked heavily on Gilbert’s door, nerves wracking her brain as she anticipated his answer. Her eyes were still puffy and red and she honestly had no idea what was going to happen. She was a whirlpool of emotions: angry, sad, scared, hurt. But when he opened the door and his expression softened at the sight of him, she felt grateful. And so she disregarded her planned arguments and screaming and settled on hugging him tightly, sobbing into his shirt.

Gilbert didn’t say anything. He just held her as she whimpered and left his shirt a mess. He didn’t care though. All he cared about was her wellbeing.

Anne soon pulled back abruptly, wiping the tears from her face and heaving heavily. Gilbert’s face fell and his heart dropped at the sight of his love crying.

“I told you not to do anything,” Anne mumbled out with her gaze kept to the floor. 

Gilbert sighed, “I-I didn’t mean to. I just got so angry and-“

“I told you not to do anything,” she croaked out and looked up to match his gaze. 

His jaw clenched when he realized she was angry at him. She told him not to do anything and he ignored her. He allowed his anger to take over his senses.

He didn’t know what to say except the truth. “I’m sorry.”

Anne shook her head, “Sorry? You’re sorry? Because of this I might lose my job! I told you not to do anything why didn’t you listen?”

“I-I’m so sorry, Anne. But he almost hurt you. I couldn’t just...forget about it. He needed to be punished.”

“Do you know how powerful he is Gilbert? Do you know how many connections he has in this city? Nobody’s going to care that some random girl was stupid enough to nearly get herself assaulted by him!”

“Hey! You are not stupid. It was not your fault! You didn’t do anything to provoke this. He’s the only one who’s responsible here.”

Anne’s bottom lip started quivering as they stared down at each other. Eventually, her expression softened and she exhaled, stiffly wrapping her arms around his waist and resting her head on her chest.

“I’m sorry for yelling at you. I love you,” she said softly.

Gilbert shook his head as he wrapped his arms around her, “Don’t be sorry, and I love you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: *Checks the date of the last update and today’s date* Oh shit.
> 
> Hopefully you guys aren’t mad at me!! I didn’t forget about this story I just kinda didn’t know how I was going to continue it! But I have an idea now so it’s back :)


	40. Chapter 40

Anne couldn’t believe it. She pinched her wrist, wincing slightly when she noticed her uncut nails. 

“Anne? Baby you okay?” Gilbert stuck his head out of her kitchen when he heard her wince.

She nodded, rubbing her wrist. “Y-yeah”

Gilbert was sitting at her side the next second, looking over her worriedly. He tilted her chin to face him and his heart tore when he saw her eyes were welling with tears.

“Hey, hey,” he assured. He tried to move her laptop off her lap so he could wrap his arms around her, but the headline on the article she was reading caught his eye.

He read it, then read it again, and read it again, this time reading out loud:

“Numerous allegations arise over Ted Phillips, boss of the The Globe Toronto firm,” Gilbert muttered quietly.

His eyes darted back to Anne, and he realized she wasn’t crying because she was upset, she seemed happy.

“Anne, I-“

“I-I think some people heard what-what happened to me and,” she stuttered, swallowing before continuing, “and I guess they came forward.”

Gilbert tucked an arm around Anne, pulling her into his chest, “So you think...”

“There’s no way Ms. Stacy would keep him now,” Anne croaked out.

He placed a kiss atop her head and rubbed her back comfortingly up and down. 

“He’s gonna be gone,” he said quietly, a small smile on his face.

He felt her nod against his chest, and a wet laugh broke through her, “He’s gonna be gone.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a plan for a few more chapters and maybe an epilogue. I honestly did not expect this “short story” to be nearly 50 chapters lmao. I guess that’s what happens when I’m a sucker for modern day shirbert fluff.


	41. Chapter 41

Gilbert had a fairly well thought-out plan for the night, but it’s safe to say his red-haired girlfriend jumping on him the second she opened her door was not apart of it.

But he wasn’t complaining. He quite liked this turn of events.

“Oh mm, Anne,” he tried to pull his lips away but she just brought his face closer as she walked them backwards into the living room.

“No talking. Take your clothes off,” she said breathlessly as her back hit the armchair of her sofa.

Again, Gilbert wasn’t going to complain. But it wasn’t until her dainty fingers were fiddling with his zipper did he snap out of it and pull away, only to be tempted to go in again when he saw her pout.

“I had to ask you something, and I had a plan,” he said with no background information to trail it.

Anne blinked, “Okay. What was it?”

He opened his mouth, but he was certain the feel of his girlfriend’s small body pressed right up against his and the strawberry scented lip gloss left as a present on his lips stole any thoughts from him.

The meticulous planning he’d been doing for so long flew right out the window all because his Anne was feeling particularly frisky.

Again, he was not complaining.

“Move in with me,” he finally said, wondering if a pat on his back for managing to remember that part of the plan would be weird.

Anne was fairly taken aback, blinking up at her y’all boyfriend and gaping. “What?” She asked.

His hands were still wrapped around her waist, but he loosened his tight on them so he was now cradling her body against his. “Move in with me,” he repeated. “I know we haven’t been together too long but we practically live at each other’s places anyways and we’re literally neighbors so I don’t think it would be too much of a hassle-“

He was cut off by the familiar strawberry scented lip gloss brushing against his lips again, this time in a soft, sweet kiss. 

When they pulled away, he saw her beam at him and couldn’t help but smile and pepper kisses on her face. “So is that a yes?” He muttered, kissing her nose.

Gilbert felt her nod and moved to rest their foreheads together. “You had a plan just to ask me to move in with you?”

He blushed faintly. “Maybe.”

She shook her head, rubbing her nose up against his. “You’re such a dork.”

“You want to jump my bones anyways.”

She shrugged, smiling mischievously as she moved her hand back to his jean zipper. “Maybe.”

His plan didn’t go exactly the way he wanted, but once again, he wasn’t complaining.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise you guys I didn’t forget about this story LOL.


	42. Chapter 42

Anne groaned as Gilbert smothered her closer to his naked chest. “Gilbert let me go,” she groaned. “I have to work.”

He mumbled sleepily and leaned over to kiss her head, “Mm, no.”

”Gilbert,” she said sternly.

”Anne,” he mocked.

”Let me go now or I’m breaking up with you,” she threatened emptily.

Gilbert smirked. Even sleepily, he was gorgeous, and she wondered if taking a sick day wouldn’t be too bad. 

“We both know you wouldn’t,” he remarked.

She groaned and tried to move away but he wrapped both arms around her body, locking her. 

“I knew it was a bad idea to live together,” she mumbled.

”No you didn’t,” he muttered.

Anne sighed and resorted to her last resort, tickling his side. Gilbert immediately reacted and let go, allowing Anne to jump out of bed before he could pull her back. He groaned in defeat.

”You're evil,” he muttered.

Anne giggled, leaning over him to kiss him. “I love you.”

”That’s embarrassing for you.”

She tickled him again to wake him up before retreating in the bathroom, smiling innocently at his evil glare.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi this story is basically just fluff because I really do miss them hope you like it


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